


Rover

by Novachipmunk



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, this is kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 12:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7683991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Novachipmunk/pseuds/Novachipmunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“He won’t make it through the night.”<br/>Ten-year-old Katie Holt wraps her arms around her brother even tighter, clutching the fabric of his shirt with shaky hands. She’s trembling, whimpering, unable to form a coherent thought. No. No, this can’t be. Things like this don’t happen, they can’t. No God anywhere could be so cruel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rover

“He won’t make it through the night.”  
Ten-year-old Katie Holt wraps her arms around her brother even tighter, clutching the fabric of his shirt with shaky hands. She’s trembling, whimpering, unable to form a coherent thought. No. No, this can’t be. Things like this don’t happen, they can’t. No God anywhere could be so cruel.   
She feels Matt's hand on her head, combing through her hair. “It’s okay, Katie”, he whispers. His voice is hoarse. He sounds like he’s suppressing tears himself. Katie knows that he doesn’t want to cry in front of her. He thinks he’s not allowed to do that, that she can’t see him cry because he’s the big brother.   
He doesn’t cry in situations like this.   
He doesn’t cry because all of this isn’t real.   
She hears him take a deep breath, and then he says: “Are you sure the meds aren’t working on him?” He tries to sound hopeful but that little spark of hope is soon crushed by the vet’s voice.  
“I doubt it, I am sorry. He suffered severe hypothermia and the broken paws, I don’t-”  
He stops when Katie gasps. She doesn’t want to hear this. She’ll wake up any minute now. All of this is just a bad, bad dream and she’ll be fine. The puppy will be fine, too.   
“...so you’ll put him to sleep, then?” Matt asks quietly. He wraps his arms around Katie’s shoulders and tries to be a comfort to her. Matt has always been bad at these kinds of things but Katie appreciates it. Right now, it’s all she has to hold onto in the cold and sterile vet’s office.   
“I’m afraid so”, the doctor says. “I suggest you and your sister wait outside.”  
That’s when something in Katie’s mind clicks and her thoughts become clear. She stumbles backwards and stares at the vet, teeth bared. “You are not touching this puppy”, she hisses. Matt tries to pull her back by her shoulder but she slaps his hand away. “You are not killing this puppy!” She probably doesn’t sound too intimidating, tiny as she is, shaking, with a tearstained face, but she’s also seething with rage. “You’re not killing him”, she repeats, louder this time. “As you said, there’s a chance he’ll survive! I’m taking that chance.“  
“Miss Holt, I know you mean well but every second is torture for this dog, and if we put him to sleep, he’ll sleep away peacefully. Without pain.”  
“But maybe he’ll get better!” The girl is waving her arms desperately, trying to bring her point across. The doctor sighs and looks at Matt. Katie turns around to face her brother. “Matt, we can’t let him die! He deserves this chance!”  
Matt kneels before her and takes her by the shoulders. “Katie, Doctor Whale is right. The cold has really taken its toll on the poor guy. You don’t want him to suffer any more, do you?”  
Katie shakes her head slowly. “But I don’t want him to die. He deserves to live, Matt, he’s just a baby dog. We have to try.”  
He sighs. “Okay. Okay, we’ll try. Doctor, could you give him some more painkillers?” He stands up again.   
“...yes.” The doctor rushes away to get the meds, he clearly just wants to get this over with. It’s about nine in the afternoon already, after all. It borders on a miracle that he even let them in this late.  
Katie follows him with her eyes. How much can one love animals if they’d kill a baby just like that? If there’s a chance, then the case isn’t hopeless and the puppy could make it. No. Will make it. It’s his chance and he’ll take it.  
The vet comes back and injects the puppy a clear liquid. “He should be … fine for the next few hours. I will call you if there are any news.”  
Katie shakes her head furiously. “I’m staying with him.”  
“Miss, I’m sorry, I know you-”  
“No, I’m staying.” She crosses her arms.  
“Doctor, is there any possibility my sister could stay over the night?”  
He scratches the back of his head and looks around. “Only if she sleeps in the waiting room. We can’t put her with the injured animals in the backroom.”  
“That’s good enough for me”, Katie says. “I’ll sleep on the floor or on a chair as long as I can stay with him.”  
“You sure?”, Matt asks. “I’ll have to go home, you know I have to drive back to Arizona tomorrow. I need to sleep and-”  
“Don’t worry about it, Matt.” She looks up at him. “I’m sure Mom will pick me up.” She glances over at the sleeping puppy. “Both of us.”  
Matt ruffles her hair. “Okay. Be safe, Katie. Don’t get into trouble.”  
She nods. “Me? Never.” She manages a weak smile and lets Matt talk to the doctor. She walks over to the puppy and pats his head lightly. “I’m staying with you, tonight”, she whispers. He doesn’t respond, of course. “And tomorrow, you’ll meet the rest of your new family. Well, half of it. Dad’s at work pretty much all of the time but you’re gonna love my mom. She’s really nice and she makes the best cookies in the world. I’ll share with you, but only if you don’t tell her. Oh, and you can sleep in my bed from then on. It’s super comfy and I have these glow in the dark stars, so there’s always a bit of light if you’re afraid of the dark… But I’ll be there, too. Of course. You’re not alone anymore, little buddy.” She holds his paw, the left one, the one that isn’t broken and gives it a light squeeze. Maybe the puppy feels it. Just so he knows that he’s safe. That there is someone there for him.  
“Katie?”  
“Huh?” She turns around. Doctor Whale massages his temples. “Okay. So you can stay overnight, in the waiting room. I’ll have to lock the office and the back room, you’ll understand that. You can use the bathroom and the water dispenser. I’ll put a bowl with water for the puppy there, too. All I can get for you is a dog bed and a blanket and I have to ask you not to make a mess. But I’m sure you’re aware of that. If there’s an emergency, call shortcut number 1, it’s my house phone. I have done for him what I can but I can't make any promises.”  
“Thank you very much, sir”, Katie says sincerely.   
Matt leaves first, hugging her and then shaking hands with the doctor, who follows soon after. He locks the doors and turns down the lights. Katie is by herself, the tiny puppy lying in the dog bed. Still sleeping. Sleeping but alive. And he’ll wake up, she’s sure of it. She looks at him. Ash gray fur, floppy ears. Big, brown button eyes. Eyes that had been full of terror when they found him in an backstreet alley this very afternoon.  
Katie had heard the puppy whimpering and grabbed her brother to go investigate. They found him shaking and trembling, huddled between some old cartons. He was all alone and Katie took off her jacket and wrapped up the little guy. He had been ice cold, his short fur not keeping him warm in the cold of January. They had rushed to Matt’s car and driven to the nearest vet’s office. Doctor Whale couldn’t say what’d happened to him but he had a broken paw, was severely malnourished and undercooled. He was as good as dead but Katie wouldn’t let him die like that. That puppy had as much right to live as any other creature, the right to a home and a loving family. She’ll stay with him and he’s going to make it through this night. There’s no other way, no other ending to this story.   
He’s a bit better already. Warmer and with a bandage around his paw. As soon as he wakes up, he’ll be able to eat a bit and he’ll be fine. Everything will be fine in the morning.  
Katie carefully crawls into the dog bed, curling into a ball around the tiny dog. His breathing is even, though a bit slow. But that might just be because he’s under medication. She pets along his back. God, he’s still so small. She wonders if he’d lived somewhere and his owners just threw him out. She decides that that isn’t an option. Nobody would do that to a baby dog. Maybe he’s the puppy of a stray and his mother died - Katie shudders. No. Not better. There aren’t any options she could settle with so she decides not to think about it any further. What counts isn’t the past, but the presence and the future. And this little guy’s future shines as bright as the stars on Katie's ceiling.   
She snuggles close to her new buddy and closes her eyes. “You’ll be fine”, she whispers. “We’re going to have so much fun together. Wait till you see our garden. It’s huge, we can play hide&seek and fetch … if you grow up big enough to carry a stick. I have no idea what kind of dog you are. I’ll have to do some research tomorrow. You can sleep on my lap then, I doubt you’d find that so interesting. And if you’re, like, a really tiny breed of dog, I’ll find some tiny sticks for you. I hope you don’t grow up to be bigger than I am but well. I‘m tiny too. We can be the Shorty Squad. Tall people will fear us, haha.” She yawns and snuggles closer to the puppy. “ I’ll get you so many chewy toys and goodies. You’re gonna live like a prince, buddy. I need to think of a name for you, too…” And with that, she drifts off into a dreamless sleep. 

Katie isn’t woken up by the creaking door that opens when the nurse enters or the rattling of her keys in the lock the next morning. She’s not woken up by the pale light of the rising sun or the singing budgies they keep in the waiting room.   
She’s awoken by someone licking her cheek and she jerks awake, almost screams, until she remembers who the tongue belongs to. Her gaze meets big brown button eyes, now full of curiosity instead of terror, and a wagging tail. Katie sits up, the puppy sliding into her lap. The little guy jumps up against her chest again and makes the tiniest barking sound. She ruffles its head and starts grinning.  
“I knew it”, she says and hugs the puppy softly. “I just knew it! I’ve known you for like twelve hours now and you are already the best dog in the whole wide world!”  
He nuzzles her cheek and pants.   
“Hmm … I think I’ll call you Rover!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!  
> So I had to watch a baby bunny die outside today and I've been a bunny owner since I was small, so I'm honestly kinda wrecked right now. At least my dog chased away the cat that did it before she could hurt the little thing even more.   
> Anyway, I wrote this as a vent and I feel a bit better now. Hope you like it!


End file.
